Share this article

Strauss still committed to the Bulls

Although Springbok captain Adriaan Strauss will retire from the Test arena at the end of this year, he is still committed to playing for the Bulls.

Strauss' retirement bombshell led to speculation that he might leave South Africa to take up a lucrative contract at a European or Japanese club.

Bulls high-performance manager Xander Janse van Rensburg said, however, they were not surprised by the veteran hooker's decision to call time on his international career.

"Adriaan played open cards with us beforehand," he told City Press.

"He is contracted to the Bulls until October 2019 and he assured us that he would honour his contract. He plays an important role in the vision we have at Loftus Versfeld, to win the Super Rugby competition."

The Bulls' goal is to become the leading provincial team in the southern hemisphere by 2018.

Bulls head coach Nollis Marais said Strauss had assured him that he would be staying at the Pretoria-based union as he is determined to achieve some major milestones with the team.

“We had a long discussion about it and Adriaan is totally committed to playing for the Bulls," said Marais.